Mop wringer



March 13, 1% G. v. HUTCHINS MOP WRINGER Filed Oct. 23. 1945 2Sheets-Sheet l March 18, 1947. G. v. HUTCHINS 1 MOP WRINGER Filed Oct.25, 1945 2 Sheets-Sheet "2 Patented Mar. 18, 1947 UNITED STATES PATENTOFFICE MOP WRINGER George V. Hutohins, North Hero, Vt.

Application October 23, 1945, Serial No. 624,022

11 Claims.

The invention aims to provide a new and improved mop wringer of thegeneral type in which a depressible mop receptacle is mounted on a frameto be supported by a scrub bucket, said receptacle having relativelymovable side walls which squeeze surplus water from the mop when saidreceptacle is depressed either by downward forcing of the mop or bymechanical means.

Another object of the invention is to provide improved means forrelatively moving the receptacle walls as the receptacle is depressed,said means utilizing the rolling action of wheels upon tracks andeccentric members operated by said wheels to perform this function.

A further object is to provide a construction in which the mop squeezingoperation is intensified by inclination of the aforesaid tracks.

A still further object is to provide for squeezing the lower end of themop more intensively, as it always contains more water.

Another aim is to provide a highly eiiicient, desirable and durableconstruction, yet one which may be readily manufactured and marketed ata reasonable price.

Figure 1 of the accompanying drawings is an end elevation with portionsbroken away.

Fig. 2 is a side elevation partly in section.

Fig. 3 is a vertical sectional view on line 33 of Fig. 2.

Fig. 4 is a horizontal sectional view partly broken away, on line 4-4 ofFig. 3.

The construction disclosed in the drawings may be considered aspreferred, attention, however, being invited to the possibility ofmaking variations within the scope of the invention as claimed.

The general frame structure of the device includes a horizontal frame 5to rest upon a scrub bucket. Suitably secured to the side bars 8 of thisframe, are four corner posts 1, 1 and I, 1'. The lower ends of the postsI are connected by a substantially horizontal bar 8, and a similar bar8' connects the lower ends of the posts 1. Then too, the lower ends andthe upper ends of the posts 1 are connected with the corresponding endsof the posts I by horizontal bars 9..

The upper ends of the two posts I are connected by an arched crown barIll and a similar bar It! connects the upper ends of the posts 1'. Eachof the posts I is provided with a longitudinal rack bar I l and each ofthe posts I has a similar rack bar H. Two upper gear wheels l2 and twolower gear wheels l3 mesh with the rack bars II, and corresponding gearsI2 and 43 mesh with the rack bars II. The upper gears l2 and 2 l2 areconnected by horizontal bars M, the ends of said bars being connectedwith said gears at eccentric points It. Similarly, the lower gears l3are connected by horizontal bars It, the ends of said bars beingconnected with eccentric points on said gears, as shown at 55'. Theupper and lower gears are provided with central projecting hubs i6 andIt respectively, which engage vertical rails l'i, whereby the variousgears are held in mesh with the coacting racks. In the presentdisclosure, the upper ends of the rails l1 have lateral projections l8secured on spacers ill on the upper ends of the posts I and l, and thelower ends of said rails I! are suitably secured to the bars 8 and 8.

A mop receptacle 2B is provided, said mop receptacle having two sidewalls 2| and 22, and two end walls 23 secured to the wall 2| but not tothe wall 22. The wall 2! is secured by screws or the like 24 to theupper and lower bars l4 and M at one side of the device; the wall 22 issimilarly secured to the upper and lower bars l4 and Hi at the otherside of the device, and the end walls 23 have suitable notches 25 whichreceive the last named bars as the two walls 2| and 22 move inwardlytoward each other. Two downwardly converging bottom sections 26 arehinged to the lower ends of the walls 2| and 22 and are hinged to eachother, the lower extremities of said bottom sections having projectingstuds 27 vertically slidable in guides 28 secured to the lower bars 8and 8'.

Upwardly converging links 29 are pivoted at their lower ends to the hubsI6 of the lower gears E3 and I3, the upper ends of said links beingconnected with tension springs 35 hooked into openings in the crown barsI!) and It. The upward pull of these springs normally holds thereceptacle and the gears raised as shown in the drawings.

When the receptacle 2E! is depressed either by downward ushing of a mopinserted into said receptacle, or by some mechanical means which mightbe provided, the gears I2 and i3 and i2 and i3 roll downwardly upontheir respective rack bars H and ii and the eccentric connections it and15 thus force the bars l4 and M inwardly, thus moving the receptacleside walls 2! same is true of the rack bars 1 l'. Thus, while thereceptacle 20 is being depressed to move the side walls 2| and 22inwardly, the upper and lower gears are shifted inwardly, thus producinga combination of forces to squeeze the mop.

Downward'movement of the receptacle may be limited by any desired means.In the drawings, however, I have disclosed stop pins 3| on one of thebottom sections 'ZtL'to strike the other of said bottom sections whenthe receptacle has been closed to the desired extent.

From the foregoing, taken in connection with the accompanyingdrawings,it will be seen that novel and advantageous provision has been made forcarrying out the objects of the invention, and while preferences havebeendisclosed, attention is again invited to the possibility 'ofmaking'variations within the scope of the invention as claimed. Forexample, while gear wheels and coacting racks areshown, some other typeof wheels might well be used to coact with trackage formed by elementsother than actual rack bars. Further, while the springs .36 have beendisclosed for. raising the receptacle body and causing the wheels toeffect opening of said receptacle, it will be understood that ifmechanical means be provided to depress said receptacle, the samemechanical means could be utilized to raise it, making the springsunnecessary.

I claim:

l. A mop wringer comprising a receptacle having opposed .side walls, atleast one of which is inwardly movable toward the other, a supportingframe upon which said receptacle is mounted for downward. movement, anupright track carried by said frame, a wheel engaging said track, andmeans connecting said wheel with said receptacle to cause downwardrolling of said wheel on said trackas said receptacle is depressed,.saidconnecting means including an eccentric member operated by said wheelfor inwardly moving said wall as said wheel rolls downwardly.

2. A structure as specified'in claim 1; said track being inclined in adirection to shift said wheel in the direction of movement of saidmovable side wall as said receptacle is depressed.

3. A mop wringer comprising a receptacle having opposed side walls, atleast one of which is inwardly movable toward the other, a supportingframe upon which said receptacle is mounted for downward movement,upright trackage carried by said frame, upper and lowerwheels engagingsaid tracliage, and means connecting said receptacle and wheels to causedownward ro-lling of said wheels on said trackage as said receptacle isdepressed, said means including upper and lower eccentric membersoperated by said upper and lower wheels for inwardly forcing the upperand lower ends of said movable side wall as said receptacle isdepressed.

4. A structure as specified in claim 3; said trackage being inclined ina direction to shift said wheels in the direction of movement of saidmovable side wall as said receptacle is depressed.

'5. A mop wringer comprising a supporting frame, a mop receptaclemovable vertically with respect to said frame and having opposed sidewalls, at least one of which is movable inwardly toward the other, upperand lower horizontal bars secured to said movable side wall, two upperand two lower wheels connectedat eccentric points with the ends or saidupper and lower bars respectively fo-rinwardly pushing said movable'sidewall when said wheels are rotated in one direction, and uprighttra-ckage'on said frame and Tengaging said wheels for rotating saidwheels in said wardly thereon, a mop'receptacle between said posts andhaving inwardly movable side walls, means connecting the upper ends-ofsaid side walls with eccentric points of the four upper wheels, andmeans connecting the lower ends of said side walls with eccentric pointsof the four lower wheels, said wheels and means being so constructed andarranged as to be operable to in-v wardly move said side walls as saidwheels roll downwardly. along said tracks during depression a mopreceptacle mounted for vertical movement in said frame, said receptaclehaving upright walls including oppositely disposed side walls movableinwardly toward each other, and means for moving the said side wallsinwardly as the receptacle is depressed in said frame; two downwardlyconverging bottom sections hinged at their upper edges to the loweredges of said side walls and hinged at their lower edges to each other,to intensively squeeze the lower end of the mop..

9. A mop wringer comprising a sup-porting frame, a vertically movablemop receptacle within the frame and having oppositely disposed sidewalls, endwalls and two downwardly converging bottom sections hinged toeach other at their lower edges and hinged at their upper edges to thelower edges of said-side walls, guiding means on ,said frame for thehinged lower edges of said bottom sections, upright trackage at'each endof said frame, upright guides at each end'of said frame, upper and lowerpairs of wheels at each end of said receptacle, said wheels beingpositioned to run on said trackage and havingconcentric hubs to coactwith said guides, means connecting the upper and lower wheels to saidside walls adjacent the ends of the latter, the last mentioned meansincluding pivots positioned eccentrically on said wheels, and springmeans attached to. said frame for normallyholding the re- -ceptacl-e inits elevated position.

10. A mop wringer comprising a substantially rectangular supportingframe, upright tracks car ried'by the four corners .of said frame, anupper and a, lower wheel engaged with eachof said tracks to rolldownwardly thereon, means for maintaining said wheels in contact withsaid tracks, a'vertically movable mop receptacle with- .in saidfr-ameand having inwardly movable side walls, means connectingthe upper endsof said side walls with eccentric points of the four upper wheelsand'means-connecting the lower ends of said side, walls. with eccentricpoints of the four "lower wheels, said wheels and said connecting GEORGEV. HUTCHINS.

REFERENCES GITED The following references are of record in the file ofthis patent:

5 UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 2,275,461 Palmer Mar. 10, 19421,128,083 Welch Feb. 9, 1915 660,201 Richardson Oct. 23, 1900 885,607Goehle Apr. 21, 1908

